Classic Encyclicals & Other Papal Documents

Libertas Praestantissimum

Descr.:

On The Nature Of Human Liberty

Pope:

Pope Leo XIII

Date:

June 20, 1888

To
the Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops, and Bishops of the Catholic
World in Grace and Communion with the Apostolic See.

1.
Liberty, the highest of natural endowments, being the portion only
of intellectual or rational natures, confers on man this dignity -
that he is "in the hand of his counsel"(1) and
has power over his actions. But the manner in which such dignity
is exercised is of the greatest moment, inasmuch as on the use
that is made of liberty the highest good and the greatest evil
alike depend. Man, indeed, is free to obey his reason, to seek
moral good, and to strive unswervingly after his last end. Yet he
is free also to turn aside to all other things; and, in pursuing
the empty semblance of good, to disturb rightful order and to fall
headlong into the destruction which he has voluntarily chosen. The
Redeemer of mankind, Jesus Christ, having restored and exalted the
original dignity of nature, vouchsafed special assistance to the
will of man; and by the gifts of His grace here, and the promise
of heavenly bliss hereafter, He raised it to a nobler state. In
like manner, this great gift of nature has ever been, and always
will be, deservingly cherished by the Catholic Church, for to her
alone has been committed the charge of handing down to all ages
the benefits purchased for us by Jesus Christ. Yet there are many
who imagine that the Church is hostile to human liberty. Having a
false and absurd notion as to what liberty is, either they pervert
the very idea of freedom, or they extend it at their pleasure to
many things in respect of which man cannot rightly be regarded as
free.

2.
We have on other occasions, and especially in Our encyclical
letter Immortale Dei,(2) in treating of the so-called modern
liberties, distinguished between their good and evil elements; and
We have shown that whatsoever is good in those liberties is as
ancient as truth itself, and that the Church has always most
willingly approved and practiced that good: but whatsoever has
been added as new is, to tell the plain truth, of a vitiated kind,
the fruit of the disorders of the age, and of an insatiate longing
after novelties. Seeing, however, that many cling so obstinately
to their own opinion in this matter as to imagine these modern
liberties, cankered as they are, to be the greatest glory of our
age, and the very basis of civil life, without which no perfect
government can be conceived, We feel it a pressing duty, for the
sake of the common good, to treat separately of this subject.

3.
It is with moral liberty, whether in individuals or in
communities, that We proceed at once to deal. But, first of all,
it will be well to speak briefly of natural liberty; for, though
it is distinct and separate from moral liberty, natural freedom is
the fountainhead from which liberty of whatsoever kind flows, sua
vi suaque sponte. The unanimous consent and judgment of men, which
is the trusty voice of nature, recognizes this natural liberty in
those only who are endowed with intelligence or reason; and it is
by his use of this that man is rightly regarded as responsible for
his actions. For, while other animate creatures follow their
senses, seeking good and avoiding evil only by instinct, man has
reason to guide him in each and every act of his life. Reason sees
that whatever things that are held to be good upon earth may exist
or may not, and discerning that none of them are of necessity for
us, it leaves the will free to choose what it pleases. But man can
judge of this contingency, as We say, only because he has a soul
that is simple, spiritual, and intellectual - a soul, therefore,
which is not produced by matter, and does not depend on matter for
its existence; but which is created immediately by God, and, far
surpassing the condition of things material, has a life and action
of its own so that, knowing the unchangeable and necessary reasons
of what is true and good, it sees that no particular kind of good
is necessary to us. When, therefore, it is established that man's
soul is immortal and endowed with reason and not bound up with
things material, the foundation of natural liberty is at once most
firmly laid.

4.
As the Catholic Church declares in the strongest terms the
simplicity, spirituality, and immortality of the soul, so with
unequalled constancy and publicity she ever also asserts its
freedom. These truths she has always taught, and has sustained
them as a dogma of faith, and whensoever heretics or innovators
have attacked the liberty of man, the Church has defended it and
protected this noble possession from destruction. History bears
witness to the energy with which she met the fury of the
Manichaeans and others like them; and the earnestness with which
in later years she defended human liberty at the Council of Trent,
and against the followers of Jansenius, is known to all. At no
time, and in no place, has she held truce with fatalism.

5.
Liberty, then, as We have said, belongs only to those who have the
gift of reason or intelligence. Considered as to its nature, it is
the faculty of choosing means fitted for the end proposed, for he
is master of his actions who can choose one thing out of many.
Now, since everything chosen as a means is viewed as good or
useful, and since good, as such, is the proper object of our
desire, it follows that freedom of choice is a property of the
will, or, rather, is identical with the will in so far as it has
in its action the faculty of choice. But the will cannot proceed
to act until it is enlightened by the knowledge possessed by the
intellect. In other words, the good wished by the will is
necessarily good in so far as it is known by the intellect; and
this the more, because in all voluntary acts choice is subsequent
to a judgment upon the truth of the good presented, declaring to
which good preference should be given. No sensible man can doubt
that judgment is an act of reason, not of the will. The end, or
object, both of the rational will and of its liberty is that good
only which is in conformity with reason.

6.
Since, however, both these faculties are imperfect, it is
possible, as is often seen, that the reason should propose
something which is not really good, but which has the appearance
of good, and that the will should choose accordingly. For, as the
possibility of error, and actual error, are defects of the mind
and attest its imperfection, so the pursuit of what has a false
appearance of good, though a proof of our freedom, just as a
disease is a proof of our vitality, implies defect in human
liberty. The will also, simply because of its dependence on the
reason, no sooner desires anything contrary thereto than it abuses
its freedom of choice and corrupts its very essence. Thus it is
that the infinitely perfect God, although supremely free, because
of the supremacy of His intellect and of His essential goodness,
nevertheless cannot choose evil; neither can the angels and
saints, who enjoy the beatific vision. St. Augustine and others
urged most admirably against the Pelagians that, if the
possibility of deflection from good belonged to the essence or
perfection of liberty, then God, Jesus Christ, and the angels and
saints, who have not this power, would have no liberty at all, or
would have less liberty than man has in his state of pilgrimage
and imperfection. This subject is often discussed by the Angelic
Doctor in his demonstration that the possibility of sinning is not
freedom, but slavery. It will suffice to quote his subtle
commentary on the words of our Lord: "Whosoever committeth
sin is the slave of sin."(3) "Everything," he says,
"is that which belongs to it naturally. When, therefore, it
acts through a power outside itself, it does not act of itself,
but through another, that is, as a slave. But man is by nature
rational. When, therefore, he acts according to reason, he acts of
himself and according to his free will; and this is liberty.
Whereas, when he sins, he acts in opposition to reason, is moved
by another, and is the victim of foreign misapprehensions.
Therefore, 'Whosoever committeth sin is the slave of sin.'"(4) Even the heathen philosophers clearly recognized this
truth, especially they who held that the wise man alone is free;
and by the term "wise man" was meant, as is well known,
the man trained to live in accordance with his nature, that is, in
justice and virtue.

7.
Such, then, being the condition of human liberty, it necessarily
stands in need of light and strength to direct its actions to good
and to restrain them from evil. Without this, the freedom of our
will would be our ruin. First of all, there must be law; that is,
a fixed rule of teaching what is to be done and what is to be left
undone. This rule cannot affect the lower animals in any true
sense, since they act of necessity, following their natural
instinct, and cannot of themselves act in any other way. On the
other hand, as was said above, he who is free can either act or
not act, can do this or do that, as he pleases, because his
judgment precedes his choice. And his judgment not only decides
what is right or wrong of its own nature, but also what is
practically good and therefore to be chosen, and what is
practically evil and therefore to be avoided. In other words, the
reason prescribes to the will what it should seek after or shun,
in order to the eventual attainment of man's last end, for the
sake of which all his actions ought to be performed. This ordination of reason is called law. In man's free will, therefore,
or in the moral necessity of our voluntary acts being in
accordance with reason, lies the very root of the necessity of
law. Nothing more foolish can be uttered or conceived than the
notion that, because man is free by nature, he is therefore exempt
from law. Were this the case, it would follow that to become free
we must be deprived of reason; whereas the truth is that we are
bound to submit to law precisely because we are free by our very
nature. For, law is the guide of man's actions; it turns him
toward good by its rewards, and deters him from evil by its
punishments.

8.
Foremost in this office comes the natural law, which is written
and engraved in the mind of every man; and this is nothing but our
reason, commanding us to do right and forbidding sin.
Nevertheless, all prescriptions of human reason can have force of
law only inasmuch as they are the voice and the interpreters of
some higher power on which our reason and liberty necessarily
depend. For, since the force of law consists in the imposing of
obligations and the granting of rights, authority is the one and
only foundation of all law - the power, that is, of fixing duties
and defining rights, as also of assigning the necessary sanctions
of reward and chastisement to each and all of its commands. But
all this, clearly, cannot be found in man, if, as his own supreme
legislator, he is to be the rule of his own actions. It follows,
therefore, that the law of nature is the same thing as the eternal
law, implanted in rational creatures, and inclining them to their
right action and end; and can be nothing else but the eternal
reason of God, the Creator and Ruler of all the world. To this
rule of action and restraint of evil God has vouchsafed to give
special and most suitable aids for strengthening and ordering the
human will. The first and most excellent of these is the power of
His divine grace, whereby the mind can be enlightened and the will
wholesomely invigorated and moved to the constant pursuit of moral
good, so that the use of our inborn liberty becomes at once less
difficult and less dangerous. Not that the divine assistance
hinders in any way the free movement of our will; just the
contrary, for grace works inwardly in man and in harmony with his
natural inclinations, since it flows from the very Creator of his
mind and will, by whom all things are moved in conformity with
their nature. As the Angelic Doctor points out, it is because
divine grace comes from the Author of nature that it is so
admirably adapted to be the safeguard of all natures, and to
maintain the character, efficiency, and operations of each.

9.
What has been said of the liberty of individuals is no less
applicable to them when considered as bound together in civil
society. For, what reason and the natural law do for individuals,
that human law, promulgated for their good, does for the citizens
of States. Of the laws enacted by men, some are concerned with
what is good or bad by its very nature; and they command men to
follow after what is right and to shun what is wrong, adding at
the same time a suitable sanction. But such laws by no means
derive their origin from civil society, because, just as civil
society did not create human nature, so neither can it be said to
be the author of the good which befits human nature, or of the
evil which is contrary to it. Laws come before men live together
in society, and have their origin in the natural, and consequently
in the eternal, law. The precepts, therefore, of the natural law,
contained bodily in the laws of men, have not merely the force of
human law, but they possess that higher and more august sanction
which belongs to the law of nature and the eternal law. And within
the sphere of this kind of laws the duty of the civil legislator
is, mainly, to keep the community in obedience by the adoption of
a common discipline and by putting restraint upon refractory and
viciously inclined men, so that, deterred from evil, they may turn
to what is good, or at any rate may avoid causing trouble and
disturbance to the State. Now, there are other enactments of the
civil authority, which do not follow directly, but somewhat
remotely, from the natural law, and decide many points which the
law of nature treats only in a general and indefinite way. For
instance, though nature commands all to contribute to the public
peace and prosperity, whatever belongs to the manner, and
circumstances, and conditions under which such service is to be
rendered must be determined by the wisdom of men and not by nature
herself. It is in the constitution of these particular rules of
life, suggested by reason and prudence, and put forth by competent
authority, that human law, properly so called, consists, binding
all citizens to work together for the attainment of the common end
proposed to the community, and forbidding them to depart from this
end, and, in so far as human law is in conformity with the
dictates of nature, leading to what is good, and deterring from
evil.

10.
From this it is manifest that the eternal law of God is the sole
standard and rule of human liberty, not only in each individual
man, but also in the community and civil society which men
constitute when united. Therefore, the true liberty of human
society does not consist in every man doing what he pleases, for
this would simply end in turmoil and confusion, and bring on the
overthrow of the State; but rather in this, that through the
injunctions of the civil law all may more easily conform to the
prescriptions of the eternal law. Likewise, the liberty of those
who are in authority does not consist in the power to lay
unreasonable and capricious commands upon their subjects, which
would equally be criminal and would lead to the ruin of the
commonwealth; but the binding force of human laws is in this, that
they are to be regarded as applications of the eternal law, and
incapable of sanctioning anything which is not contained in the
eternal law, as in the principle of all law. Thus, St. Augustine
most wisely says: "I think that you can see, at the same
time, that there is nothing just and lawful in that temporal law,
unless what men have gathered from this eternal law."(5) If,
then, by anyone in authority, something be sanctioned out of
conformity with the principles of right reason, and consequently
hurtful to the commonwealth, such an enactment can have no binding
force of law, as being no rule of justice, but certain to lead men
away from that good which is the very end of civil society.

11.
Therefore, the nature of human liberty, however it be considered,
whether in individuals or in society, whether in those who command
or in those who obey, supposes the necessity of obedience to some
supreme and eternal law, which is no other than the authority of
God, commanding good and forbidding evil. And, so far from this
most just authority of God over men diminishing, or even
destroying their liberty, it protects and perfects it, for the
real perfection of all creatures is found in the prosecution and
attainment of their respective ends; but the supreme end to which
human liberty must aspire is God.

12.
These precepts of the truest and highest teaching, made known to
us by the light of reason itself, the Church, instructed by the
example and doctrine of her divine Author, has ever propagated and
asserted; for she has ever made them the measure of her office and
of her teaching to the Christian nations. As to morals, the laws
of the Gospel not only immeasurably surpass the wisdom of the
heathen, but are an invitation and an introduction to a state of
holiness unknown to the ancients; and, bringing man nearer to God,
they make him at once the possessor of a more perfect liberty.
Thus, the powerful influence of the Church has ever been
manifested in the custody and protection of the civil and
political liberty of the people. The enumeration of its merits in
this respect does not belong to our present purpose. It is
sufficient to recall the fact that slavery, that old reproach of
the heathen nations, was mainly abolished by the beneficent
efforts of the Church. The impartiality of law and the true
brotherhood of man were first asserted by Jesus Christ; and His
apostles re-echoed His voice when they declared that in future
there was to be neither Jew, nor Gentile, nor barbarian, nor
Scythian, but all were brothers in Christ. So powerful, so
conspicuous, in this respect is the influence of the Church that
experience abundantly testifies how savage customs are no longer
possible in any land where she has once set her foot; but that
gentleness speedily takes the place of cruelty, and the light of
truth quickly dispels the darkness of barbarism. Nor has the
Church been less lavish in the benefits she has conferred on
civilized nations in every age, either by resisting the tyranny of
the wicked, or by protecting the innocent and helpless from
injury, or, finally, by using her influence in the support of any
form of government which commended itself to the citizens at home,
because of its justice, or was feared by their enemies without,
because of its power.

13.
Moreover, the highest duty is to respect authority, and obediently
to submit to just law; and by this the members of a community are
effectually protected from the wrong-doing of evil men. Lawful
power is from God, "and whosoever resisteth authority
resisteth the ordinance of God';(6) wherefore, obedience is
greatly ennobled when subjected to an authority which is the most
just and supreme of all. But where the power to command is
wanting, or where a law is enacted contrary to reason, or to the
eternal law, or to some ordinance of God, obedience is unlawful,
lest, while obeying man, we become disobedient to God. Thus, an
effectual barrier being opposed to tyranny, the authority in the
State will not have all its own way, but the interests and rights
of all will be safeguarded - the rights of individuals, of domestic
society, and of all the members of the commonwealth; all being
free to live according to law and right reason; and in this, as We
have shown, true liberty really consists.

14.
If when men discuss the question of liberty they were careful to
grasp its true and legitimate meaning, such as reason and
reasoning have just explained, they would never venture to affix
such a calumny on the Church as to assert that she is the foe of
individual and public liberty. But many there are who follow in
the footsteps of Lucifer, and adopt as their own his rebellious
cry, "I will not serve"; and consequently substitute for
true liberty what is sheer and most foolish license. Such, for
instance, are the men belonging to that widely spread and powerful
organization, who, usurping the name of liberty, style themselves
liberals.

15.
What naturalists or rationalists aim at in philosophy, that the
supporters of Liberalism, carrying out the principles laid down by
naturalism, are attempting in the domain of morality and politics.
The fundamental doctrine of rationalism is the supremacy of the
human reason, which, refusing due submission to the divine and
eternal reason, proclaims its own independence, and constitutes
itself the supreme principle and source and judge of truth. Hence,
these followers of liberalism deny the existence of any divine
authority to which obedience is due, and proclaim that every man
is the law to himself; from which arises that ethical system which
they style independent morality, and which, under the guise of
liberty, exonerates man from any obedience to the commands of God,
and substitutes a boundless license. The end of all this it is not
difficult to foresee, especially when society is in question.
For, when once man is firmly persuaded that he is subject to no
one, it follows that the efficient cause of the unity of civil
society is not to be sought in any principle external to man, or
superior to him, but simply in the free will of individuals; that
the authority in the State comes from the people only; and that,
just as every man's individual reason is his only rule of life, so
the collective reason of the community should be the supreme guide
in the management of all public affairs. Hence the doctrine of the
supremacy of the greater number, and that all right and all duty
reside in the majority. But, from what has been said, it is clear
that all this is in contradiction to reason. To refuse any bond of
union between man and civil society, on the one hand, and God the
Creator and consequently the supreme Law-giver, on the other, is
plainly repugnant to the nature, not only of man, but of all
created things; for, of necessity, all effects must in some proper
way be connected with their cause; and it belongs to the
perfection of every nature to contain itself within that sphere
and grade which the order of nature has assigned to it, namely,
that the lower should be subject and obedient to the higher.

16.
Moreover, besides this, a doctrine of such character is most
hurtful both to individuals and to the State. For, once ascribed to
human reason the only authority to decide what is true and what is
good, and the real distinction between good and evil is destroyed;
honor and dishonor differ not in their nature, but in the opinion
and judgment of each one; pleasure is the measure of what is
lawful; and, given a code of morality which can have little or no
power to restrain or quiet the unruly propensities of man, a way
is naturally opened to universal corruption. With reference also
to public affairs: authority is severed from the true and natural
principle whence it derives all its efficacy for the common good;
and the law determining what it is right to do and avoid doing is
at the mercy of a majority. Now, this is simply a road leading
straight to tyranny. The empire of God over man and civil society
once repudiated, it follows that religion, as a public
institution, can have no claim to exist, and that everything that
belongs to religion will be treated with complete indifference.
Furthermore, with ambitious designs on sovereignty, tumult and
sedition will be common amongst the people; and when duty and
conscience cease to appeal to them, there will be nothing to hold
them back but force, which of itself alone is powerless to keep
their covetousness in check. Of this we have almost daily evidence
in the conflict with socialists and members of other seditious
societies, who labor unceasingly to bring about revolution. It is
for those, then, who are capable of forming a just estimate of
things to decide whether such doctrines promote that true liberty
which alone is worthy of man, or rather, pervert and destroy it.

17.
There are, indeed, some adherents of liberalism who do not
subscribe to these opinions, which we have seen to be fearful in
their enormity, openly opposed to the truth, and the cause of most
terrible evils. Indeed, very many amongst them, compelled by the
force of truth, do not hesitate to admit that such liberty is
vicious, nay, is simple license, whenever intemperate in its
claims, to the neglect of truth and justice; and therefore they
would have liberty ruled and directed by right reason, and
consequently subject to the natural law and to the divine eternal
law. But here they think they may stop, holding that man as a free
being is bound by no law of God except such as He makes known to
us through our natural reason. In this they are plainly
inconsistent. For if - as they must admit, and no one can rightly
deny - the will of the Divine Law-giver is to be obeyed, because
every man is under the power of God, and tends toward Him as his
end, it follows that no one can assign limits to His legislative
authority without failing in the obedience which is due. Indeed,
if the human mind be so presumptuous as to define the nature and
extent of God's rights and its own duties, reverence for the
divine law will be apparent rather than real, and arbitrary
judgment will prevail over the authority and providence of God.
Man must, therefore, take his standard of a loyal and religious
life from the eternal law; and from all and every one of those
laws which God, in His infinite wisdom and power, has been pleased
to enact, and to make known to us by such clear and unmistakable
signs as to leave no room for doubt. And the more so because laws
of this kind have the same origin, the same author, as the eternal
law, are absolutely in accordance with right reason, and perfect
the natural law. These laws it is that embody the government of
God, who graciously guides and directs the intellect and the will
of man lest these fall into error. Let, then, that continue to
remain in a holy and inviolable union which neither can nor should
be separated; and in all things - for this is the dictate of right
reason itself - let God be dutifully and obediently served.

18.
There are others, somewhat more moderate though not more
consistent, who affirm that the morality of individuals is to be
guided by the divine law, but not the morality of the State, for
that in public affairs the commands of God may be passed over, and
may be entirely disregarded in the framing of laws. Hence follows
the fatal theory of the need of separation between Church and
State. But the absurdity of such a position is manifest. Nature
herself proclaims the necessity of the State providing means and
opportunities whereby the community may be enabled to live
properly, that is to say, according to the laws of God. For, since
God is the source of all goodness and justice, it is absolutely
ridiculous that the State should pay no attention to these laws or
render them abortive by contrary enactments. Besides, those who
are in authority owe it to the commonwealth not only to provide
for its external well-being and the conveniences of life, but
still more to consult the welfare of men's souls in the wisdom of
their legislation. But, for the increase of such benefits, nothing
more suitable can be conceived than the laws which have God for
their author; and, therefore, they who in their government of the
State take no account of these laws abuse political power by
causing it to deviate from its proper end and from what nature
itself prescribes. And, what is still more important, and what We
have more than once pointed out, although the civil authority has
not the same proximate end as the spiritual, nor proceeds on the
same lines, nevertheless in the exercise of their separate powers
they must occasionally meet. For their subjects are the same, and
not infrequently they deal with the same objects, though in
different ways. Whenever this occurs, since a state of conflict is
absurd and manifestly repugnant to the most wise ordinance of God,
there must necessarily exist some order or mode of procedure to
remove the occasions of difference and contention, and to secure
harmony in all things. This harmony has been not inaptly compared
to that which exists between the body and the soul for the
well-being of both one and the other, the separation of which
brings irremediable harm to the body, since it extinguishes its
very life.

19.
To make this more evident, the growth of liberty ascribed to our
age must be considered apart in its various details. And, first,
let us examine that liberty in individuals which is so opposed to
the virtue of religion, namely, the liberty of worship, as it is
called. This is based on the principle that every man is free to
profess as he may choose any religion or none.

20.
But, assuredly, of all the duties which man has to fulfill, that,
without doubt, is the chiefest and holiest which commands him to
worship God with devotion and piety. This follows of necessity
from the truth that we are ever in the power of God, are ever
guided by His will and providence, and, having come forth from
Him, must return to Him. Add to which, no true virtue can exist
without religion, for moral virtue is concerned with those things
which lead to God as man's supreme and ultimate good; and
therefore religion, which (as St. Thomas says) "performs
those actions which are directly and immediately ordained for the
divine honor",(7) rules and tempers all virtues. And if it be
asked which of the many conflicting religions it is necessary to
adopt, reason and the natural law unhesitatingly tell us to
practice that one which God enjoins, and which men can easily
recognize by certain exterior notes, whereby Divine Providence has
willed that it should be distinguished, because, in a matter of
such moment, the most terrible loss would be the consequence of
error. Wherefore, when a liberty such as We have described is
offered to man, the power is given him to pervert or abandon with
impunity the most sacred of duties, and to exchange the
unchangeable good for evil; which, as We have said, is no liberty,
but its degradation, and the abject submission of the soul to sin.

21.
This kind of liberty, if considered in relation to the State,
clearly implies that there is no reason why the State should offer
any homage to God, or should desire any public recognition of Him;
that no one form of worship is to be preferred to another, but
that all stand on an equal footing, no account being taken of the
religion of the people, even if they profess the Catholic faith.
But, to justify this, it must needs be taken as true that the
State has no duties toward God, or that such duties, if they
exist, can be abandoned with impunity, both of which assertions
are manifestly false. For it cannot be doubted but that, by the
will of God, men are united in civil society; whether its
component parts be considered; or its form, which implies
authority; or the object of its existence; or the abundance of the
vast services which it renders to man. God it is who has made man
for society, and has placed him in the company of others like
himself, so that what was wanting to his nature, and beyond his
attainment if left to his own resources, he might obtain by
association with others. Wherefore, civil society must acknowledge
God as its Founder and Parent, and must obey and reverence His
power and authority. Justice therefore forbids, and reason itself
forbids, the State to be godless; or to adopt a line of action
which would end in godlessness - namely, to treat the various
religions (as they call them) alike, and to bestow upon them
promiscuously equal rights and privileges. Since, then, the
profession of one religion is necessary in the State, that
religion must be professed which alone is true, and which can be
recognized without difficulty, especially in Catholic States,
because the marks of truth are, as it were, engraven upon it. This
religion, therefore, the rulers of the State must preserve and
protect, if they would provide - as they should do - with prudence
and usefulness for the good of the community. For public authority
exists for the welfare of those whom it governs; and, although its
proximate end is to lead men to the prosperity found in this life,
yet, in so doing, it ought not to diminish, but rather to
increase, man's capability of attaining to the supreme good in
which his everlasting happiness consists: which never can be
attained if religion be disregarded.

22.
All this, however, We have explained more fully elsewhere. We now
only wish to add the remark that liberty of so false a nature is
greatly hurtful to the true liberty of both rulers and their
subjects. Religion, of its essence, is wonderfully helpful to the
State. For, since it derives the prime origin of all power
directly from God Himself, with grave authority it charges rulers
to be mindful of their duty, to govern without injustice or
severity, to rule their people kindly and with almost paternal
charity; it admonishes subjects to be obedient to lawful
authority, as to the ministers of God; and it binds them to their
rulers, not merely by obedience, but by reverence and affection,
forbidding all seditious and venturesome enterprises calculated to
disturb public order and tranquillity, and cause greater
restrictions to be put upon the liberty of the people. We need not
mention how greatly religion conduces to pure morals, and pure
morals to liberty. Reason shows, and history confirms the fact,
that the higher the morality of States; the greater are the
liberty and wealth and power which they enjoy.

23.
We must now consider briefly liberty of speech, and liberty of the
press. It is hardly necessary to say that there can be no such
right as this, if it be not used in moderation, and if it pass
beyond the bounds and end of all true liberty. For right is a
moral power which - as We have before said and must again and again
repeat - it is absurd to suppose that nature has accorded
indifferently to truth and falsehood, to justice and injustice.
Men have a right freely and prudently to propagate throughout the
State what things soever are true and honorable, so that as many
as possible may possess them; but lying opinions, than which no
mental plague is greater, and vices which corrupt the heart and
moral life should be diligently repressed by public authority,
lest they insidiously work the ruin of the State. The excesses of
an unbridled intellect, which unfailingly end in the oppression of
the untutored multitude, are no less rightly controlled by the
authority of the law than are the injuries inflicted by violence
upon the weak. And this all the more surely, because by far the
greater part of the community is either absolutely unable, or able
only with great difficulty, to escape from illusions and deceitful
subtleties, especially such as flatter the passions. If unbridled
license of speech and of writing be granted to all, nothing will
remain sacred and inviolate; even the highest and truest mandates
of natures, justly held to be the common and noblest heritage of
the human race, will not be spared. Thus, truth being gradually
obscured by darkness, pernicious and manifold error, as too often
happens, will easily prevail. Thus, too, license will gain what
liberty loses; for liberty will ever be more free and secure in
proportion as license is kept in fuller restraint. In regard,
however, to all matter of opinion which God leaves to man's free
discussion, full liberty of thought and of speech is naturally
within the right of everyone; for such liberty never leads men to
suppress the truth, but often to discover it and make it known.

24.
A like judgment must be passed upon what is called liberty of
teaching. There can be no doubt that truth alone should imbue the
minds of men, for in it are found the well-being, the end, and the
perfection of every intelligent nature; and therefore nothing but
truth should be taught both to the ignorant and to the educated,
so as to bring knowledge to those who have it not, and to preserve
it in those who possess it. For this reason it is plainly the duty
of all who teach to banish error from the mind, and by sure
safeguards to close the entry to all false convictions. From this
it follows, as is evident, that the liberty of which We have been
speaking is greatly opposed to reason, and tends absolutely to
pervert men's minds, in as much as it claims for itself the right
of teaching whatever it pleases - a liberty which the State cannot
grant without failing in its duty. And the more so because the
authority of teachers has great weight with their hearers, who can
rarely decide for themselves as to the truth or falsehood of the
instruction given to them.

25.
Wherefore, this liberty, also, in order that it may deserve the
name, must be kept within certain limits, lest the office of
teaching be turned with impunity into an instrument of corruption.
Now, truth, which should be the only subject matter of those who
teach, is of two kinds: natural and supernatural. Of natural
truths, such as the principles of nature and whatever is derived
from them immediately by our reason, there is a kind of common
patrimony in the human race. On this, as on a firm basis,
morality, justice, religion, and the very bonds of human society
rest: and to allow people to go unharmed who violate or destroy it
would be most impious, most foolish, and most inhuman.

26.
But with no less religious care must we preserve that great and
sacred treasure of the truths which God Himself has taught us. By
many and convincing arguments, often used by defenders of
Christianity, certain leading truths have been laid down: namely,
that some things have been revealed by God; that the only-begotten
Son of God was made flesh, to bear witness to the truth; that a
perfect society was founded by Him - the Church, namely, of which He
is the head, and with which He has promised to abide till the end
of the world. To this society He entrusted all the truths which He
had taught, in order that it might keep and guard them and with
lawful authority explain them; and at the same time He commanded
all nations to hear the voice of the Church, as if it were His
own, threatening those who would not hear it with everlasting
perdition. Thus, it is manifest that man's best and surest teacher
is God, the Source and Principle of all truth; and the
only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, the Way, the
Truth, and the Life, the true Light which enlightens every man,
and to whose teaching all must submit: "And they shall all be
taught of God."(8)

27.
In faith and in the teaching of morality, God Himself made the
Church a partaker of His divine authority, and through His
heavenly gift she cannot be deceived. She is therefore the
greatest and most reliable teacher of mankind, and in her dwells
an inviolable right to teach them. Sustained by the truth received
from her divine Founder, the Church has ever sought to fulfill
holily the mission entrusted to her by God; unconquered by the
difficulties on all sides surrounding her, she has never ceased to
assert her liberty of teaching, and in this way the wretched
superstition of paganism being dispelled, the wide world was
renewed unto Christian wisdom. Now, reason itself clearly teaches
that the truths of divine revelation and those of nature cannot
really be opposed to one another, and that whatever is at variance
with them must necessarily be false. Therefore, the divine
teaching of the Church, so far from being an obstacle to the
pursuit of learning and the progress of science, or in any way
retarding the advance of civilization, in reality brings to them
the sure guidance of shining light. And for the same reason it is
of no small advantage for the perfecting of human liberty, since
our Saviour Jesus Christ has said that by truth is man made free:
"You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you
free."(9) Therefore, there is no reason why genuine liberty
should grow indignant, or true science feel aggrieved, at having
to bear the just and necessary restraint of laws by which, in the
judgment of the Church and of reason itself, human teaching has to
be controlled.

28,
The Church, indeed - as facts have everywhere proved - looks chiefly
and above all to the defense of the Christian faith, while careful
at the same time to foster and promote every kind of human
learning. For learning is in itself good, and praiseworthy, and
desirable; and further, all erudition which is the outgrowth of
sound reason, and in conformity with the truth of things, serves
not a little to confirm what we believe on the authority of God.
The Church, truly, to our great benefit, has carefully preserved
the monuments of ancient wisdom; has opened everywhere homes of
science, and has urged on intellectual progress by fostering most
diligently the arts by which the culture of our age is so much
advanced. Lastly, we must not forget that a vast field lies freely
open to man's industry and genius, containing all those things
which have no necessary connection with Christian faith and
morals, or as to which the Church, exercising no authority, leaves
the judgment of the learned free and unconstrained.

29.
From all this may be understood the nature and character of that
liberty which the followers of liberalism so eagerly advocate and
proclaim. On the one hand, they demand for themselves and for the
State a license which opens the way to every perversity of
opinion; and on the other, they hamper the Church in divers ways,
restricting her liberty within narrowest limits, although from her
teaching not only is there nothing to be feared, but in every
respect very much to be gained.

30.
Another liberty is widely advocated, namely, liberty of
conscience. If by this is meant that everyone may, as he chooses,
worship God or not, it is sufficiently refuted by the arguments
already adduced. But it may also be taken to mean that every man
in the State may follow the will of God and, from a consciousness
of duty and free from every obstacle, obey His commands. This,
indeed, is true liberty, a liberty worthy of the sons of God,
which nobly maintains the dignity of man and is stronger than all
violence or wrong - a liberty which the Church has always desired
and held most dear. This is the kind of liberty the Apostles
claimed for themselves with intrepid constancy, which the
apologists of Christianity confirmed by their writings, and which
the martyrs in vast numbers consecrated by their blood. And
deservedly so; for this Christian liberty bears witness to the
absolute and most just dominion of God over man, and to the chief
and supreme duty of man toward God. It has nothing in common with
a seditious and rebellious mind; and in no tittle derogates from
obedience to public authority; for the right to command and to
require obedience exists only so far as it is in accordance with
the authority of God, and is within the measure that He has laid
down. But when anything is commanded which is plainly at variance
with the will of God, there is a wide departure from this divinely
constituted order, and at the same time a direct conflict with
divine authority; therefore, it is right not to obey.

31.
By the patrons of liberalism, however, who make the State absolute
and omnipotent, and proclaim that man should live altogether
independently of God, the liberty of which We speak, which goes
hand in hand with virtue and religion, is not admitted; and
whatever is done for its preservation is accounted an injury and
an offense against the State. Indeed, if what they say were really
true, there would be no tyranny, no matter how monstrous, which we
should not be bound to endure and submit to.

32.
The Church most earnestly desires that the Christian teaching, of
which We have given an outline, should penetrate every rank of
society in reality and in practice; for it would be of the
greatest efficacy in healing the evils of our day, which are
neither few nor slight, and are the offspring in great part of
the false liberty which is so much extolled, and in which the
germs of safety and glory were supposed to be contained. The hope
has been disappointed by the result. The fruit, instead of being
sweet and wholesome, has proved cankered and bitter. If, then, a
remedy is desired, let it be sought for in a restoration of sound
doctrine, from which alone the preservation of order and, as a
consequence, the defense of true liberty can be confidently
expected.

33.
Yet, with the discernment of a true mother, the Church weighs the
great burden of human weakness, and well knows the course down
which the minds and actions of men are in this our age being
borne. For this reason, while not conceding any right to anything
save what is true and honest, she does not forbid public authority
to tolerate what is at variance with truth and justice, for the
sake of avoiding some greater evil, or of obtaining or preserving
some greater good. God Himself in His providence, though
infinitely good and powerful, permits evil to exist in the world,
partly that greater good may not be impeded, and partly that
greater evil may not ensue. In the government of States it is not
forbidden to imitate the Ruler of the world; and, as the authority
of man is powerless to prevent every evil, it has (as St.
Augustine says) to overlook and leave unpunished many things which
are punished, and rightly, by Divine Providence.(10) But if, in
such circumstances, for the sake of the common good (and this is
the only legitimate reason), human law may or even should tolerate
evil, it may not and should not approve or desire evil for its own
sake; for evil of itself, being a privation of good, is opposed to
the common welfare which every legislator is bound to desire and
defend to the best of his ability. In this, human law must
endeavor to imitate God, who, as St. Thomas teaches, in allowing
evil to exist in the world, "neither wills evil to be done,
nor wills it not to be done, but wills only to permit it to be
done; and this is good."(11) This saying of the Angelic
Doctor contains briefly the whole doctrine of the permission of
evil.

34.
But, to judge aright, we must acknowledge that, the more a State
is driven to tolerate evil, the further is it from perfection; and
that the tolerance of evil which is dictated by political prudence
should be strictly confined to the limits which its justifying
cause, the public welfare, requires. Wherefore, if such tolerance
would be injurious to the public welfare, and entail greater evils
on the State, it would not be lawful; for in such case the motive
of good is wanting. And although in the extraordinary condition of
these times the Church usually acquiesces in certain modern
liberties, not because she prefers them in themselves, but because
she judges it expedient to permit them, she would in happier times
exercise her own liberty; and, by persuasion, exhortation, and
entreaty would endeavor, as she is bound, to fulfill the duty
assigned to her by God of providing for the eternal salvation of
mankind. One thing, however, remains always true - that the liberty
which is claimed for all to do all things is not, as We have often
said, of itself desirable, inasmuch as it is contrary to reason
that error and truth should have equal rights.

35.
And as to tolerance, it is surprising how far removed from the
equity and prudence of the Church are those who profess what is
called liberalism. For, in allowing that boundless license of
which We have spoken, they exceed all limits, and end at last by
making no apparent distinction between truth and error, honesty
and dishonesty. And because the Church, the pillar and ground of
truth, and the unerring teacher of morals, is forced utterly to
reprobate and condemn tolerance of such an abandoned and criminal
character, they calumniate her as being wanting in patience and
gentleness, and thus fail to see that, in so doing, they impute to
her as a fault what is in reality a matter for commendation. But,
in spite of all this show of tolerance, it very often happens
that, while they profess themselves ready to lavish liberty on all
in the greatest profusion, they are utterly intolerant toward the
Catholic Church, by refusing to allow her the liberty of being
herself free.

36.
And now to reduce for clearness' sake to its principal heads all
that has been set forth with its immediate conclusions, the
summing up in this briefly: that man, by a necessity of his
nature, is wholly subject to the most faithful and everenduring
power of God; and that, as a consequence, any liberty, except that
which consists in submission to God and in subjection to His will,
is unintelligible. To deny the existence of this authority in God,
or to refuse to submit to it, means to act, not as a free man, but
as one who treasonably abuses his liberty; and in such a
disposition of mind the chief and deadly vice of liberalism
essentially consists. The form, however, of the sin is manifold;
for in more ways and degrees than one can the will depart from the
obedience which is due to God or to those who share the divine
power.

37.
For, to reject the supreme authority to God, and to cast off all
obedience to Him in public matters, or even in private and
domestic affairs, is the greatest perversion of liberty and the
worst kind of liberalism; and what We have said must be understood
to apply to this alone in its fullest sense.

38.
Next comes the system of those who admit indeed the duty of
submitting to God, the Creator and Ruler of the world, inasmuch as
all nature is dependent on His will, but who boldly reject all
laws of faith and morals which are above natural reason, but are
revealed by the authority of God; or who at least impudently
assert that there is no reason why regard should be paid to these
laws, at any rate publicly, by the State. How mistaken these men
also are, and how inconsistent, we have seen above. From this
teaching, as from its source and principle, flows that fatal
principle of the separation of Church and State; whereas it is, on
the contrary, clear that the two powers, though dissimilar in
functions and unequal in degree, ought nevertheless to live in
concord, by harmony in their action and the faithful discharge of
their respective duties.

39.
But this teaching is understood in two ways. Many wish the State
to be separated from the Church wholly and entirely, so that with
regard to every right of human society, in institutions, customs,
and laws, the offices of State, and the education of youth, they
would pay no more regard to the Church than if she did not exist;
and, at most, would allow the citizens individually to attend to
their religion in private if so minded. Against such as these, all
the arguments by which We disprove the principle of separation of
Church and State are conclusive; with this super-added, that it is
absurd the citizen should respect the Church, while the State may
hold her in contempt.

40.
Others oppose not the existence of the Church, nor indeed could
they; yet they despoil her of the nature and rights of a perfect
society, and maintain that it does not belong to her to legislate,
to judge, or to punish, but only to exhort, to advise, and to rule
her subjects in accordance with their own consent and will. By
such opinion they pervert the nature of this divine society, and
attenuate and narrow its authority, its office of teacher, and its
whole efficiency; and at the same time they aggrandize the power
of the civil government to such extent as to subject the Church of
God to the empire and sway of the State, like any voluntary
association of citizens. To refute completely such teaching, the
arguments often used by the defenders of Christianity, and set
forth by Us, especially in the encyclical letter Immortale
Dei,(12) are of great avail; for by those arguments it is proved
that, by a divine provision, all the rights which essentially
belong to a society that is legitimate, supreme, and perfect in
all its parts exist in the Church.

41.
Lastly, there remain those who, while they do not approve the
separation of Church and State, think nevertheless that the Church
ought to adapt herself to the times and conform to what is
required by the modern system of government. Such an opinion is
sound, if it is to be understood of some equitable adjustment
consistent with truth and justice; in so far, namely, that the
Church, in the hope of some great good, may show herself
indulgent, and may conform to the times in so far as her sacred
office permits. But it is not so in regard to practices and
doctrines which a perversion of morals and a warped judgment have
unlawfully introduced. Religion, truth, and justice must ever be
maintained; and, as God has intrusted these great and sacred
matters to her office as to dissemble in regard to what is false
or unjust, or to connive at what is hurtful to religion.

42.
From what has been said it follows that it is quite unlawful to
demand, to defend, or to grant unconditional freedom of thought,
of speech, or writing, or of worship, as if these were so many
rights given by nature to man. For, if nature had really granted
them, it would be lawful to refuse obedience to God, and there
would be no restraint on human liberty. It likewise follows that
freedom in these things may be tolerated wherever there is just
cause, but only with such moderation as will prevent its
degenerating into license and excess. And, where such liberties
are in use, men should employ them in doing good, and should
estimate them as the Church does; for liberty is to be regarded as
legitimate in so far only as it affords greater facility for doing
good, but no farther.

43.
Whenever there exists, or there is reason to fear, an unjust
oppression of the people on the one hand, or a deprivation of the
liberty of the Church on the other, it is lawful to seek for such
a change of government as will bring about due liberty of action.
In such case, an excessive and vicious liberty is not sought, but
only some relief, for the common welfare, in order that, while
license for evil is allowed by the State, the power of doing good
may not be hindered.

44.
Again, it is not of itself wrong to prefer a democratic form of
government, if only the Catholic doctrine be maintained as to the
origin and exercise of power. Of the various forms of government,
the Church does not reject any that are fitted to procure the
welfare of the subject; she wishes only - and this nature itself
requires - that they should be constituted without involving wrong
to any one, and especially without violating the rights of the
Church.

45.
Unless it be otherwise determined, by reason of some exceptional
condition of things, it is expedient to take part in the
administration of public affairs. And the Church approves of every
one devoting his services to the common good, and doing all that
he can for the defense, preservation, and prosperity of his
country.

46.
Neither does the Church condemn those who, if it can be done
without violation of justice, wish to make their country
independent of any foreign or despotic power. Nor does she blame
those who wish to assign to the State the power of
self-government, and to its citizens the greatest possible measure
of prosperity. The Church has always most faithfully fostered
civil liberty, and this was seen especially in Italy, in the
municipal prosperity, and wealth, and glory which were obtained at
a time when the salutary power of the Church has spread, without
opposition, to all parts of the State.

47.
These things, venerable brothers, which, under the guidance of
faith and reason, in the discharge of Our Apostolic office, We
have now delivered to you, We hope, especially by your cooperation
with Us, will be useful unto very many. In lowliness of heart We
raise Our eyes in supplication to God, and earnestly beseech Him
to shed mercifully the light of His wisdom and of His counsel upon
men, so that, strengthened by these heavenly gifts, they may in
matters of such moment discern what is true, and may afterwards,
in public and private at all times and with unshaken constancy,
live in accordance with the truth. As a pledge of these heavenly
gifts, and in witness of Our good will to you, venerable brothers,
and to the clergy and people committed to each of you, We most
lovingly grant in the Lord the apostolic benediction.

Given
at St. Peter's in Rome, the twentieth day of June, 1888, the tenth
year of Our Pontificate.

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